


champagne cocktail

by orphan_account



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Jalec Month, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 17:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9777689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It was just one evening, away from the war, spent in a mundane bar in Paris.ForJalec Month, week 3 - "Love".





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [luckylyanna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckylyanna/gifts).



The bar was packed for a week night, but Jace wasn’t too surprised by the crowd. Weather was cold outside, but not enough to deter people from going out – just enough to make sure they would be having drinks inside rather than outside. Hell, _they_ hadn’t even planned on going to bar tonight, but meeting their contact had been a lot quicker than they had expected – European vampires seriously weren’t kidding around when it came to passing information needed for the war against Valentine – and they had gotten the rest of the evening free for them to do as they pleased.

And so, they had gone to a bar. A rather original place for sure, with walls made of stone and a big wooden archway separating the room in two parts, one where most of the crowd concentrated – with the counter in the middle of it and rows of bottles against the wall – and another part that looked lost in the shadows. They hadn’t paid much attention to it, other than to make sure there was an exit there. Windows were always a good exit, when needed.

They had left the main arteries of the city at some point, wondering whether or not they hadn’t lost their way, but Jace had seen the façade, noticed the crowd and decided it would do them some good to get in and have a drink – or more. Alec would have been more inclined to go back to Paris’ institute, to try and reach out more to their hosts – they would need all the help they could get, after all – but it hadn’t been too difficult to convince him to get out for a walk – and possibly more – instead. They needed the break, and probably wouldn’t have been able to find it at the Institute, still reeling from Aldertree’s rule – before he had been called back by the Clave, following the discovery he had gotten Izzy’s addicted to yin fen – as well as the war efforts against Valentine. Hell, he had somehow managed to get over his feelings for Clary in the past few months – despite discovering they weren’t actually related, which had, in a weird way, strengthened their friendship – but it had probably been one of the few bright spots in his life. (The other one, of course, being Alec, but that was the natural order of things. He could always count on his _parabatai_ to brighten his day – and night – by his mere presence, after all.)

Talking about Alec… Jace scanned the bar, looking for the familiar frame, before spotting a tall figure almost opposite to him, looking vaguely interested in his interlocutor’s conversation.

Jace winced.

Okay, going to a bar hadn’t been done with only the idea of _unwinding_ in mind, but it didn’t seem to be working very well. He suspected Alec wasn’t one to pick up guys to get over a heartbreak – especially considering how much energy and time he had put into making his relation with Magnus work – but weeks had gone by and nothing had changed. Well, almost nothing – his _parabatai_ sure had been a bit less gloomy since they had arrived in Paris, but Jace suspected it was more due to the city and its buildings – perfect spots for an archer – than anything else.

But he would be damned if he didn’t manage to make Alec feel better before they left to go back to New York.

Eyeing the cocktails menu, he pondered whether or not it was a good idea to try one with alcohol. He tended to avoid drinking on the job – or even outside the job, never knowing when he was going to be called on the field – but his own cocktail had been pretty good, and there was a version with champagne that looked rather tempting… for people who liked alcohol, that is.

Maybe he should give it a try. Or have one send to Alec, who obviously wasn’t having the time of his life, despite still engaging with the guy next to him – who sure looked positively smitten. Eh. His _parabatai_ was _irresistible_ , even in all the glory of his abrasiveness (which was a turn-on for some people, after all.)

“Want a refill?”

Jace was pulled from his thoughts by the bartender standing right in front of him, an eyebrow raised, his hand gesturing to the cocktail glass that was sitting empty on top of the bar.

“Yeah, that would be great,” Jace answered with a cocky grin, feeling content when the bartender reacted in the same way. “And hey, is there a way you could send the alcoholic version to the tall guy over there? That’s on me.”

“The one with the neck tattoo?”

“Yeah, him.”

The bartender looked briefly at Alec and his potential hook-up before turning back towards Jace, giving him a pointed look.

“Okay,” he finally said in a drawl, eyebrow still raising, clearly thinking the move might not end well, but decided not to intervene until then.

It was quite something, watching the bartender carefully prepare the cocktails, but Jace wanted to be sure no one was going to try to spike their drinks. He doubted they would feel the effect, but it would still definitively damper the mood of the evening – and the bar seemed to be a nice place. It would be a shame if something were to happen there…

He looked at the crowd once again, noticing how so many men were wearing a leather jacket under their heavy coats. Winter seemed to be quite cold in Paris – or perhaps that particular week of February had just decided to have a shitty weather – but it meant that Alec and he managed to blend in alright. Tattoos and leather jacket didn’t raise eyebrows anymore, or so it seemed…

“Here you go,” the bartender said before putting his cocktail on the counter in front of him, a new bill next to it.

That was gonna be an expensive evening, Jace knew it, but it was worth the price – even though Alec didn’t seem to be having much fun anymore with his potential hook-up. His face definitively took a sour look when the bartender put the cocktail in front of Alec, gesturing towards him while he was explaining the whole situation. Jace couldn’t but smile at the look of surprise on Alec’s face, smirking a little when his _parabatai_ raised his glass towards him with a cocky grin, obviously indifferent to the displeased man sitting next to him. The cocktail was a hit, which didn’t surprise Jace in the slightest – the non-alcoholic version was pretty good on its own and champagne was never a bad drink.

Taking his eyes off the – very enjoyable – view that was Alec appreciating his drink, Jace scanned the bar once again, looking for potential threats. There were only mundanes around here, with maybe a few werewolves or vampires hanging around, but he wouldn’t have bet on it. Downworlders seemed to avoid hanging in strictly mundane districts, and here, in the middle of the city… well, it probably wasn’t the best place to exchange information or talk about the war – despite the relative lack of involvement of the European Institutes so far. _Clean up your own messes_ seemed to be the general agreement, even though they were too polite to say it loud – and no one was stopping Shadowhunters from moving to the US for the time being, if they wanted to fight in the war.

Jace looked at the bar once more and was surprised to see that Alec had disappeared – and his cocktail with him. His date was looking vaguely pissed off, talking to the bartender, but Jace dismissed him in a second, looking instead for his _parabatai_. He hadn’t seen anyone else trying to hit on him so far – although _he_ himself had received a few advances he had declined, too busy looking over Alec – but that didn’t mean someone else wouldn’t try their chance. His _parabatai_ was a looker, after all.

“Mind if I join you?”

Surprised, Jace turned around to see Alec standing next to him – and he hadn’t even heard him coming! – his cocktail glass in one hand and his leather jacket in the other, an eyebrow raised and the beginning of a cocky grin on his lips.

“Make yourself at home,” he answered with an easy smile, feeling Alec’s arm brush against his as he was sitting down. “I thought things were shaping up to be pretty good with the other guy?”

Alec shrugged.

“It was barely decent, and then someone decide to offer me a cocktail,” and the cocky grin was fully here this time.

Jace felt his heart flutter – it had been a long time since he had last seen that look on his _parabatai_ ’s face, and the sight was more than welcome.

“Glad I could be of help. Have you tried it?”

Alec nodded.

“It’s pretty good – you would like it, I think. _Champagne_ , you know.”

Jace laughed out loud at that, barely noticing the look of approval on Alec’s face. Him laughing had been a rare sight since the beginning of the war, and it was nice for them to be so relaxed – sitting close to one another in that mundane bar, barstools so close their bodies were brushing together every time they moved.

“I don’t think I would have left with him anyway,” Alec mumbled, making his cocktail twirl in his glass.

Jace hummed.

“Not feeling it?”

“Not really, no,” Alec answered with a shrug, before giving Jace a side look. “Besides, I’m not really in the mood to leave you alone tonight – you said we were supposed to take time off _together_ …”

“Long time we haven’t been out just the two of us,” Jace agreed, bumping his shoulder against Alec’s, smiling a little.

He got a smile in return and relaxed even more, enjoying the good mood of the evening. It was easy to just sit there and talk about nothing and everything at the same time, getting a refill of their cocktails – and exchanging them just for a sip, out of curiosity – leaving their worries and the weight of the war at the door.

They didn’t even notice how cozy they looked until the bartender walked up to them, something fond in his eyes. He cleared up his throat to get their attention, a small grin on his lips as they turned towards him in the same swift move.

“We serve food on the other side of the bar if you guys don’t feel like going out to find a restaurant,” he told them with a little move of the hand, gesturing to other half of the room.

Squinting, Jace looked at the tables that had been set up, half hidden in the shadows on the other side of the huge wooden archway. He had barely noticed them when they had first entered the bar – and would have bet the lights hadn’t been turned on at the time – too busy checking for the exits and potential threats, but now that his attention had been called to it… it looked _nice_. And the perfect place for having a quiet lunch with his _parabatai_ , too.

“Dinner sounds nice,” Alec said in agreement, nudging him gently with his elbow, and Jace nodded, shooting a grateful look at the bartender.

“Well help yourself, there’s a table of two that’s still free. I checked,” he added after a bit, and Jace suddenly wondered what kind of vibe they were giving out.

No one had come to Alec since he had joined him, after all, and he had seen plenty of men shooting him appreciative looks, while he had been talking with the other guy.

“Hope you’re hungry, the menu looks pretty good,” Alec half-whispered in his ear at they were making their way through the crowd, and Jace nodded furiously, keeping a hand on Alec’s back.

“I’m kind of starving, actually… should probably have gotten something with the cocktails.”

The table was set in a dark corner, rather close from the kitchen – and damn, the food looked _good_ – but the furniture was carved in a such a way they were actually supposed to sit next to one another rather than face to face.

Jace wasn’t complaining. It gave them both a pretty clear view on the rest of the bar – and on the few couples having dinner together, most of them lit only by the candles on their tables – and the round form of the booth was enjoyable.

“That’s pretty original,” Alec noted offhandedly before taking one of the menus that were laying on the table. “I didn’t know they made round chairs like that in Paris… – oh, hey, burgers! French burgers. Do you wanna try it out?”

Jace let out a laugh.

“Curious to see what it’s gonna taste like! And there’s choice, too – which one do you want?”

Okay, getting a burger probably wasn’t the best way to discover French food, but damn, that couldn’t be a bad place to start from. And they weren’t supposed to leave before a few days anyway, they would always have the time to try out more _classic_ – hum… – French food later…

A cute waiter came to get their orders and refill their cocktails glasses – one last time – before disappearing for a brief moment and coming back with candles. They really were getting the whole _couple_ experience and Jace tried to catch Alec’s eyes, who were suddenly fixed on the flame and refusing to move from there.

“It’s pretty nice,” Jace started out tentatively, figuring out it was as good of an occasion as any to make a move.

Feelings were curious things, after all, but timing seemed to be working in his favor, this time.

Alec hummed non-committedly, still decided to look at anything but him, and Jace decided to plaster himself against his _parabatai_ , enjoying the warmth that was radiating from him.

It definitively was a cozy booth.

“I’m not surprised the place is crowded,” Alec finally answered, cautiously turning his head towards Jace before blinking in surprise.

He hadn’t realized how close to his _parabatai_ he really was. The light from the candles’ flame cast shadows over his cheekbones and he could all but drown into these beautiful mismatched eyes, biting his lip in an unconscious gesture.

They stared at each other for a little while before Alec turned away, trying to fight the blush that was coming to his cheeks. The setting felt utterly romantic, all of a sudden, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it without making a fool of himself. He wasn’t so good at hiding his feelings anymore, not since the past few months…

“It’s hard to notice the crowd from here,” Jace mumbled without really caring about the words.

All he wanted was his p _arabatai_ ’s attention back on him and this time it wasn’t too complicated to get it, leaning against Alec a little.

They were looking at each other again. Jace licked his lips, following Alec’s eyes as they were drawn to the move, before softly leaning in, making his intention clear. The kiss was nothing more than a chaste contact, lips against lips, before Jace moved away, wondering whether or not he had made the right decision.

“Really?” Alec asked in a low voice, a deep flush over his cheeks, and Jace nodded, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.

Self-esteem issues weren’t solved over the course of a few months, and he knew he had to be careful about his choice of words.

“Discovered a few things about myself lately,” he finally whispered, trying to share his feelings through their bond before Alec hold him by the cheek.

Their second kiss lasted a little longer this time, and they smiled, a little shy, a little bashful, but utterly happy, when they separated, barely noticing the waiter coming with their food.

Their bond was thrumming between them and it seemed that everything was suddenly falling into place, as if the axe of the universe had suddenly righted itself by a few degrees.

A third kiss settled the charm for good.


End file.
